Automatic valve-regulator



C. H. HODGES. AUTOMATIC VALVE REGULATOR. APPLICATION EILED JUNE 8, 19!? I 2mm May25,1920,-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

CHARLES H. HODGES, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AS S IGNOR T0 CONSOLIDATED GAS COMPANY OF NEW YORK, A C0R1?ORA'IIOIN OF NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC VALVE-REGULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1920.

Application filed June 8, 1917. Serial No. 173,464.

To all whom itmag concern Be it known that I, CHARLES H. Hooens, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, N. Y., have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Valve-Regulators, of which the following is a clear, full, and exact description.

My invention relates to means for auto matically regulating the rate oi: flow of fluid through a conduit by means of a valve causedto open or close at a predetermined speed. p

While my invention is applicable to a wide variet of uses, a particular application thereo is in connection with the carbureter blast valves of watergas generating plants. As is well known, in the manufacture of water gas the generator 13 filled with fuel, throughwhich a. blast of air 1s forced after the fuel is lighted. The gases passing off from the fuel are conducted to a compartment in which they are caused to heat a mass of loosely piled brick or the like. After a short time, the air blast through the fuel is shut oil and steam is forced therethrough; this steam reacts on the glowingfuel to form water gas. This water gas, however, has very low lluminating value; to repair this defect, 1t also 18 passed through the heated compartment into which oil is admitted, and this compartment therefore becomes a carbureter, since oil, when exposed to the high temperature of the compartment, breaks up into various hydro-carbonswhich, mixing with the water gas, add greatly to its illuminating value.

In order that this carburizing may be economically and effectively conducted, it is essential that the hot gases formed by the preliminary air blast through the generator should be completely burned and yet should not be diluted by excess air. To accomplish this, it is vusual, during the preliminary stage ofhe'ating the carburetor, to introduce a second air blast between the generator and the carbureter. This is known as the carbureter blast, and the valve by which that takes blue gas t at passes over from the generit is controlled is called the carburetor blast At the present time it is the practice for the workman in charge to regulate the car bureter blast by manually usting the carbureter blast valve from time to time. Since these adjustments are necessarily frequent, the Workman frequently becomes careless and either neglects to open the valve at the proper time to a sufficient extent, thus caus ing an incomplete combustion of the gases in the compartment, or else opens the valve too quickly, thus diluting the gases and cooling off the compartment. Analogous conditions exist in other industries and. re quire that a valve be opened or closed at a predetermined rate. I

It is therefore an object of my inveption to provide, in connection with a valve, automatic means for opening or closing the valve,\which means may be set to move the valve at adesired predetermined speed. A i

tailed description taken'in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of my automatic valve regulator mounted -on a valve; and

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on line 2-2 of Fig, 1.

By Way of illustration I have shown my automatic valve controlling means in connection with a vertically movable gate valve, which is'provided with manually operated means for moving the valve when the automatic controlling means is disconnected therefrom or is inoperative. It is however, to be understood that my invention is not limited to such an arrangement.

In the arrangement shown, the pipe or conduit 1 is fitted'with a valve casing 2 having gate valve 4 vertically movable therein and provided with a vertical valve stem 6 in the form of a rack-bar. Meshing with this rack-bar is a pinion 8 carried on a horizontal shaft 10,journaled in the upper portion 12 of the valve casing and having at one end a hand-wheel 14. Vertically alined with the valve casing 2 is the cylinder 16 supported on the upper portion 12 of the valve casing 2 by means of the legs 18. The piston 20 is vertically movable in the cylinder 16'and-carries a depending piston rod 22 sliding through the lower head 24 of the cylinder. To the lower end of the rod 22 is detachably connected the yoke 26, adapted to receive the valve stem 6 through the opening 28 in its lower end. A set screw or dog 29 serves to quickly secure the valve stem in the yoke.

Opening into the lower end of the cylinder 16 are the pipes 30 and 32 provided with the quick opening Valves 34 and 36 respectively. These valves are provided with the handles 40 and 42, which are connected by the link 44 in such manner that when one valve is opened, the other is simultaneously closed. In one of the pipes is fitted an adjustable throttling valve 46, the stem of this valve being provided with a handle 48 and a pointer 50. The pointer coiiperates with the semi-circular scale 52 to indicate the extent of opening of the valve.

The upper end of the cylinder is provided with a pipe 54 for carrying off such fluid as may leak past the piston.

Either of the pipes 30 or 32 may be used as the inlet pipe, the other being the exhaust pipe. Then 32 is the inlet pipe in the arrangement, the device is operated by admitting fluid to the underside of the piston by opening the valve 36 and simultaneously closing the valve 34, the throttle .valve 46 being set to permit such a rate of flow through the pipe 32 as will raise the piston 20 at the desired speed. When the valve 4 has been opened the desired distance, the valve stem 6 may be quickly disconnected from the yoke 26 by disengaging the dog 29. The piston is then allowed to descend by closing the valve 36in the inlet pipe and "opening the valve 34 in the exhaust pipe.

It may, however, be desired to regulate the speed at which the'valve closes. In such a case, 32 would be used as the exhaust pipe, the piston having first been raised by admitting fluid through the pipe 30. The rate of flow out of the cylinder and the consequent rate of descent of the piston and the attached valve under the influence of the force of gravity is, in such case. determined limited to such embodiment. The principle thereof may be applied through valves and cylinders in diflerent relative positions and may be utilized by means of different mech anism for controlling the rate of change in the amount of fluid in said cylinder and the method of communicating the movement of the piston, or other fluid controlled mem her, to the valve.

\Vhat I claim as new is- 1. In combination with a valve, fluid controlled means arranged to operate at a predetermined speed, and means for connecting said fluid controlled means to said valve, provided with means for quickly attaching and detaching the connecting members of said connecting means during the operation of the valve without rotating said members.

2. In combination with a valve having a vertical valve stem, a vertical cylinder above said valve, :1, piston in said cylinder, a piston rod depending from said piston and extending through the lower head of said cylinder, a yoke suspended from the lower end of said piston, quick operable means for detachably connecting the lower end of said yoke to said valve stem, means for admitting fluid to or discharging it from the underside of said piston at a predetermined rate of flow to cause the same to be raised or lowered gradually.

3. In combination with a. valve, fluid controlled means adapted to operate said valve at a predetermined speed and comprising a cylinder provided with a piston, two supply pipes arranged to connect with one end of said chamber at the side of one face of said piston, each pipe having a control valve, both of said control valves being controlled in common, one to open and the other to close, means for connecting said fluid controlled means with the first said valve, and means for controlling, at will, the rate of flow of fluid through said control valves.

4. In combination with a valve having a valve-stem in the form of a rack, a fluid operated device, means for detachably connecting said stem with said fluid operated device to operate said valve, and a manually operable pinion in mesh with the teeth of said rack, adapted for the manual operation of said valve when said fluid operated device and valve are detached.

Signed at New York city, N. Y., this 7" day of June, 1917.

CHARLES H. l-IODGESI Vitnesses MmvIs, C. T. NEAL. 

